Me Talk Pretty One Day

(Winner of the 2001 Thurber Prize for American Humor) Originally published in 2000, this wildly popular collection of 27 comedic stories from David Sedaris was written largely in France and released to rave reviews. The book includes such acidly hilarious pieces as the title story, inspired by Sedaris's attempts at learning French in Paris, and numerous other discordant notes on Gallic culture. Here too are "You Can't Kill the Rooster," in which his otherwise gentle brother will only speak in filthy hip-hop slang, to the bewilderment of their clueless father; "Go Carolina," about the speech therapist who tried to get rid of young David's lisp; and the story of a midget guitar teacher who tried to get David to learn "Light My Fire."